Should NAU move to a different conference?

[Jacks76]

I've heard rumors at times suggesting that NAU might, in the near future, sponsor a move to a different conference, possibly the WAC. Can anyone confirm this? It has certainly been talked about, but how much of it is true? Would NAU survive in the WAC? Would they make any money? What about expanding the Skydome? Or would they need to build a new facility all together?

Paul

[AZGrizFan]

I've heard rumors at times suggesting that NAU might, in the near future, sponsor a move to a different conference, possibly the WAC. Can anyone confirm this? It has certainly been talked about, but how much of it is true? Would NAU survive in the WAC? Would they make any money? What about expanding the Skydome? Or would they need to build a new facility all together?

Paul

Who's dog is that?
Need another load?
When's payday?
What time does the 3:00 train come in?


Don't you have work to do?

The only conference it would make sense for NAU to join (outside of the BSC) would be the GWFC, purely from a proximity standpoint. Ain't no way NAU is movin' up, at least not until the Walkup Skydome falls in. xreadx xreadx xcoffeex

[89Hen]

No, none, no, no, why?, moot.

[Jacks76]

Montana has talked about such a move in the past, so I thought perhaps NAU would consider one as well.

Paul

[AZGrizFan]

Montana has talked about such a move in the past, so I thought perhaps NAU would consider one as well.

Paul

Montana also has a facility that's expandable to meet the NCAA minimum seating requirements. NAU would have to start from scratch.

[VictorG]

Montana has talked about such a move in the past, so I thought perhaps NAU would consider one as well.

Paul


By Montana I assume you mean some Montana fans. I'm not sure if serious discussion about moving "up" has really ever taken place by the powers that could make it happen. Maybe it has but not to my knowledge. Some fans sure like to beat the topic to death though.

[Jacks76]

I would love to see NAU compete in the WAC. They have the facilities (other than the stadium) to at least compete with New Mexico State, Idaho and Utah State.

Paul

[Saint3333]

Montana also has a facility that's expandable to meet the NCAA minimum seating requirements. NAU would have to start from scratch.

Common mistake, there is no minimum stadium requirement any longer. However I agree NAU's only option is the GWFC and honestly is probably a better fit.

[biobengal]

I would love to see NAU compete in the WAC. They have the facilities (other than the stadium) to at least compete with New Mexico State, Idaho and Utah State.

Paul

A lofty goal, good luck.

[CopperCat]

I've heard rumors at times suggesting that NAU might, in the near future, sponsor a move to a different conference, possibly the WAC. Can anyone confirm this? It has certainly been talked about, but how much of it is true? Would NAU survive in the WAC? Would they make any money? What about expanding the Skydome? Or would they need to build a new facility all together?

Paul

NAU needs to focus on getting back into the hunt for the BSC title, and getting to the playoffs.

Ain't no way NAU survives in the WAC as of now. There's barely anybody at NAU's home games either. They only put about 6-7,000 in there, or at least that's what I've been told. No money equals no stadium expansion equals no moving up.

But go ahead and move to the GWFC. Traveling to NAU is kind of a pain for everybody.

[Mort]

Common mistake, there is no minimum stadium requirement any longer. However I agree NAU's only option is the GWFC and honestly is probably a better fit.

Are there still minimum attendance requirements even if there are no longer minimum stadium requirements? A few years ago I remember the University of Idaho playing a couple of their "home" games 10 miles down the road in Washington State University's stadium in Pullman so they could draw larger crowds to boost their average attendance above the NCAA minimum and keep their FBS/DI status.

Just curious.

[chattanoogamocs]

Minimum seat requirement was done away with 2 years ago...attendance average, I believe is 15K average 2 out of every 3 years. Also, like you mentioned, games can be played on a neutral site and be consider a "home game" for attendance requirements. I believe last year Arkansas State played a home game versus Arkansas in Little Rock...that game alone was almost enough to satisfy the entire attendance for a whole year. If I am wrong on any of this, I am sure I will quickly be corrected. :)

[GOKATS]

NAU averaged 6,608 last year for football- 6th in the Big Sky Conference. No way does that even begin to justify a move up even if NAU was in the hunt for the conference championship every year.

In addition, moving up requires big bucks in additional schollies- not only for the additional FB schollies, but then you have to add womens schollies to comply with Title IX.

Though it is a tough place to get into I like NAU in the BSC & would hate to see them go the GW.

[Grizaholic17]

ummm...yeah. NAU is not moving up. They like it just where they are.

[JALMOND]

Almost every Big Sky school has entertained thoughts and aspirations of "moving up" and the WAC has seemed to be the conference to do it (even Sac State has pondered the idea). Yes the WAC has, what I would call, two schools that could be classified as "Big Sky shoulddabes" (Idaho and Utah State) and every Big Sky school should be able to play pretty even with those two. From there, though, there is a big step to the next three (San Jose, NM State and La Tech) that I think would give anyone in the Big Sky, even the Griz, a very tough contest. I have not even mentioned the giant step from there to the top four in the WAC (Fresno, Nevada, Hawaii and Boise). Old time Sky fans, today's Nevada and Boise are not the same Broncos and Wolfpack that played in the Big Sky awhile back. The top four in the WAC can play with anyone in the country as Boise showed last year against Oklahoma. As if the grueling travel in a conference stretching from Louisiana to Hawaii is not bad enough, why go to a conference just to be mid-pack? Because you can? What does that prove?

Supposedly, there's a rumor going around Portland that during Glanville's first week here, he told the president, who has since left, that he would make sure Portland State was in the WAC when Glanville left. The president smiled at Glanville and said "Just beat Montana for now, then we'll talk". I think that comment holds water with just about all the Big Sky schools.

[Jacks76]

Montana is a solid school. I think NAU could compete with them if they had more people at the games (6-7k isn't enough for a good home crowd).

Paul

[bandit]

Glanville's comments are interesting - what are the facilities and attendence at Portland State like? It would seem that Oregon should be able to support a 3rd FBS school from a population standpoint, but I don't know too much about the program in all honesty.

[Mort]

Glanville's comments are interesting - what are the facilities and attendence at Portland State like? It would seem that Oregon should be able to support a 3rd FBS school from a population standpoint, but I don't know too much about the program in all honesty.

The facility PSU plays in is actually a baseball stadium owned and operated by the city of Portland. It seats about 20,000 and is in downtown Portland. It is difficult to get to because of traffic and has very little parking available.

Attendance/support has been lukewarm at best since PSU moved up to the FCS level from DII back in the mid-90's. They used to draw 10,000 plus before the move, now probably average around 7,000 - 8,000.

PSU is a commuter school and as such most of its student population is not interested in extra curricular events such as football either while they are in school or after they graduate. With the rise to prominence of the UO and to a lesser degree OSU football programs, both of which are straight down I-5 within easy game day driving distance from Portland, those two schools draw the fans.

Maybe Glanville will turn that around but I suspect he's only going to be there for a couple of years so I don't know if he will have a long term impact on PSU football.

[laxVik]

Attendance has not been great of late at PSU - around 7K. This year looks to be different and I think an average of 10K is quite reachable, if not a low estimate. Winning helps of course. I think the opening game at home against UC Davis will be a huge crowd (for us at least) around 17K I'd wager. Heck I'm flying up for the game!

[Jacks76]

17,000 is a good number for a game, at least at the FCS level. How did you draw that many fans? At NAU, we only get around 6-7,000 for any given game in a 15,000 set stadium.

Paul

[bandit]

Thanks for the info Mort.

Is there a good FCS website? It would be awesome to have a site which lists all the conferences and schools, and gives a page to each school with pics of the stadium & campus, facts about the program, athletic history, etc.

Whenever I travel if I'm anywhere near a D-1 school, I usually try and stop by campus just to see what it's like. A website like I described would be the next best thing. Is there one like it?

OH - and about Portland State.... what has the reaction been to Glanville's hiring, is there an upsurge in interest and ticket sales?

[laxVik]

OH - and about Portland State.... what has the reaction been to Glanville's hiring, is there an upsurge in interest and ticket sales?More than doubled compare to last year. xthumbsupx

[laxVik]

17,000 is a good number for a game, at least at the FCS level. How did you draw that many fans? At NAU, we only get around 6-7,000 for any given game in a 15,000 set stadium.

PaulWell I,m hoping we see 17K for opening day. We average only a tad more than you, around 7-8K last year. The stadium holds 20K. I'd guess we'll average around 10k-ish or so this year.

[GOKATS]

Thanks for the info Mort.

Is there a good FCS website? It would be awesome to have a site which lists all the conferences and schools, and gives a page to each school with pics of the stadium & campus, facts about the program, athletic history, etc.

Whenever I travel if I'm anywhere near a D-1 school, I usually try and stop by campus just to see what it's like. A website like I described would be the next best thing. Is there one like it?



I'll probably get banned,but try

http://www.championshipsubdivision.com/stadiums/

[Mort]

Thanks for the info Mort.

Is there a good FCS website? It would be awesome to have a site which lists all the conferences and schools, and gives a page to each school with pics of the stadium & campus, facts about the program, athletic history, etc.

Whenever I travel if I'm anywhere near a D-1 school, I usually try and stop by campus just to see what it's like. A website like I described would be the next best thing. Is there one like it?

OH - and about Portland State.... what has the reaction been to Glanville's hiring, is there an upsurge in interest and ticket sales?

This is the link under "Essential FCS links" near the top of the home page right here on the Any Given Saturday board. There's a lot of info there - a lot. It'll keep you busy for a while, I think.
http://www.anygivensaturday.com/forum/showthread.php?t=40

There's also a new board called ChampionshipSubdivision.com that has some good info on the FCS schools.
http://www.championshipsubdivision.com/

Regarding Glanville and PSU, there has been a strong, positive reaction to Glanville's arrival. Reportedly ticket sales and booster club donations are up. I'm just a Big Sky Conference fan so a PSU fan/poster on here can give you more info.

[ncbears]

17,000 is a good number for a game, at least at the FCS level. How did you draw that many fans? At NAU, we only get around 6-7,000 for any given game in a 15,000 set stadium.

Paul

Off topic. Why do you put your name underneath your posts?

[bandit]

^^ thanks for the info guys!

[GOKATS]

17,000 is a good number for a game, at least at the FCS level. How did you draw that many fans? At NAU, we only get around 6-7,000 for any given game in a 15,000 set stadium.

Paul

Well.........................nah, I'll let someone else do it................, ronbo can't be too far away....xlolx

[Polywog]

Well, we could sure use a sixth team.

[Mort]

I'll probably get banned,but try

http://www.championshipsubdivision.com/stadiums/

Yup, I'll bet you're history. xnonox

I, on the other hand, used the cya approach and will probably get off with a reprimand. ;)

[IaaScribe]

No way, no how can NAU move into the WAC. Ever. It's not about facilities, either. It's about financial commitment, and NAU doesn't put the sort of money into its athletic program that those who play in the FBS do.

The school barely breaks even every year. Why do you think they played two FBS schools last year? Money, money, money. They play a ton of money basketball games, too, because they barely get any gate for their home games. Drawing less than 1,000-1,500 fans was commonplace at the Skydome during basketball season as recently as a couple of years ago. The only home football game that draws is Montana. When they played Florida Atlantic in the playoffs several years back, they couldn't come close to packing the Skydome.

NAU is in a tough spot. It's located in a town that doesn't care about traditional sports. It's all about the outdoors ... running, hiking, cycling, whatever. Even the prep sports struggle to draw. I remember covering games between the two big city rivals -- Flagstaff and Coconino -- and there being less than 1,000 fans at the Dome. The students don't care about NAU sports either. They'd rather flee to Phoenix on the weekends. This is one school that has zero chance of ever making the move up to the FBS.

[Bison77]

Montana is a solid school. I think NAU could compete with them if they had more people at the games (6-7k isn't enough for a good home crowd).

Paul

It always amazes me when fans think their team should move up when they aren't even mentioned as a top 25 team in their current division. Moving to the GWFC is not a option - it's a fb only conference what are you going to do with the other sports? xoopsx

[89Hen]

I would love to see NAU compete in the WAC. They have the facilities (other than the stadium) to at least compete with New Mexico State, Idaho and Utah State.
FWIW, Idaho is 2-5 vs. the BSC since 2000. I would hope you would be able to compete with them now. xeyebrowx

[dbackjon]

xbangx

NAU and the BSC are a great fit for each other. End of story.

[AZGrizFan]

xbangx

NAU and the BSC are a great fit for each other. End of story.

Hell, they'd better NOT move....It's the only chance I get to see the Griz, and that's only every OTHER year.....especially since the Griz won't seem to come down to Cal Poly again.... xsmhx xsmhx xsmhx xsmhx xsmhx

[already123]

NAU has bigger things to worry about....moving to the WAC or anyother conference for that matter would be completely ridiculous.

I actually think that you just made this up. xconfusedx xsmhx xconfusedx xsmhx

[bigd]

A lot of the Big Sky/Great West schools have a lot of potential, they just fail to realize it.

Portland State/Sac State-only schools in large markets
Northern Arizona-3rd school in arizona, which has about 6.5 million people
UC Davis-excellent academics, in large unclaimed market
Montana-excellent state flagship

All of these schools could someday move to FBS.

[IaaScribe]

Northern Arizona is a distant third. It has decent enrollment, but it's in a terrible market in a small city. It has more in common with Idaho State than any of those schools you listed, and ISU ain't movin' up any time soon.

[AZGrizFan]

A lot of the Big Sky/Great West schools have a lot of potential, they just fail to realize it.

Portland State/Sac State-only schools in large markets
Northern Arizona-3rd school in arizona, which has about 6.5 million people
UC Davis-excellent academics, in large unclaimed market
Montana-excellent state flagship

All of these schools could someday move to FBS.

Yep, but only about 50,000 of which live within 90 miles of flagstaff...

[CopperCat]

A lot of the Big Sky/Great West schools have a lot of potential, they just fail to realize it.

Portland State/Sac State-only schools in large markets
Northern Arizona-3rd school in arizona, which has about 6.5 million people
UC Davis-excellent academics, in large unclaimed market
Montana-excellent state flagship

All of these schools could someday move to FBS.

I'll leave NAU and UM alone. But Sac St. and UCD are staying put. They are in a state with way too many big schools already, and their teams haven't done enough to really merit any kind of coverage from those massive media markets. UCD may move up in the future, but Sac St. being the doormat of the BSC dooms them for years to come.

[The Sheriff]

It always amazes me when fans think their team should move up when they aren't even mentioned as a top 25 team in their current division. Moving to the GWFC is not a option - it's a fb only conference what are you going to do with the other sports? xoopsx

I get what you are trying to say, but NDSU was something like 2-8 the year it was decided to move up. I'm not trying to slam you, I just think there's something more than just on-field play. The 4 Dakota schools reasoning for moving was something along the lines of being consistent with their "peer schools" if I'm not mistaken.